Thursday, July 8, 2010

My Christmas present...

Yes, I know this is a little late...

There are parts of my personality that is not concidered paticularly normal feminine features... one is : I don't know how to multitask... Once in a while I am incountered with a male person saying "you can do that you are a woman and multitasking is just your thing..." But no, I can't... I stick to one thing at a time, I focus and concentrate... Another is : I like gadgets. Not mobile phones ( They bore me crazy, and normally I have a hard time to remember to bring it with me, which is kind of the idea with a MOBILE phone ). But give some specific tool for the kitchen, my studio or even plain woodworking tools and I am thrilled.

This christmas I got an e-book reader... The kindle... And I was one happy girl. I spend hours reading the manual and testing and trying all kind of things. Now half a year later The things I partivularly like about this kindle is, that it has not a light screen. It uses the rather new technology called digital ink, which makes it possible to read outside in bright sunshine and also makes it very little powerconsuming ( It only uses pover when "turning pages" ). The result is this thin, cool to the touch 280 gram book, that can contain up to 1500 books. The digital ink, It is not (yet) in colour and therefor not particularly good to use for beautiful artbooks and other graphic heavy books, but for reading it is eminent and leaves you with a nice relaxed feeling of reading, that a computer just doesn't provide. But if you want to read about all its features, go check out Amazons Kindle website

I wanted to make a soft cover to protect my kindle, so I can have it in my bag and bring it with me everywhere. Some years ago I made a big piece of felted wool by knitting a big loose piece in Shetland wool on my knitting mashine. I washed it in the washing machine, and voila, I had the nicest thick piece of felt. I thouht that it would be great for this project. It was very easy and quick to make and I like the way the edges of the felt will soften over time. It has allready rounded the buttonhole to a nice teardrop shape. The big button is one I found secondhand and I sewed it to the cover with a thich warm yellow piece of cotton thread. I like the combination grey- yellow a lot. I made a tiny little bag for holding the cords and headphones ( I also use my Kindle for listening to podcasts...) I have made quite a few of these little bags, but seems never to have have eneough... I always make them with dobble fabrics, since it give it a not so floppy feeling. I always make the inner fabric white, since it just makes it a lot easyer so find the things inside than if the lining was dark. It has a dobble string system so opening and closing it is really easy.

These small, practical, pretty and nice-feeling solutions really make me happy and I am so glad, I finally got the time to treat my kindle with respect...

Monday, July 5, 2010

Getting ready for baby...

Since I got to know about Elizabeth Zimmerman, I simply just knew that if we were to have another baby, I would have to make Elizabeth Zimmerman's baby surprise jacket. I am certainly not the first to do that. This design has been knitted by so many people around the world numerous times since it came out in the sixties. It is a great pattern and I basically knitted it straight from the description, but after sewing it together I knitted some extra rib on the sleeves. The main reason for to why I did that is that the design is a a little short on the sleeves, and in my little family we produce tiny people with long legs and arms ( Johns genetics... ), but the other reason is that I wanted to be able to take the cuffs down and tie the ribbon, so these little hands will not get cold. Seriously gloves for babies ? ! ...that just doesn't work

This design is knitted in one piece and gives very pleasing stribes if using all different kind of scraps from the basket. If you want to see a lot of varieties on this design just try to google ( pictures... ) surprize jacket. I didn't wanted a multicoloured one because this cardigan might be all I have time to knit for this baby, so I wanted it simple so it can be worn easily with different kind of clothes.

I am very pleased with the combination of the orange and cream coloured yarn, it is perfect for either a boy or a girl. It was also a good feeling to use yarn from my stash...

We have started to have a little babytalk with Seth. This baby is not our first child, but it is the first time we get to have more that one kid around, and offcourse we are a little worried. Will Seth be jealous ? Will we be able to love this child as much as we love Seth. All those questions are not new to parents, and I am pretty sure we will tackle it all, maybe not perfectly, but absolutely just fine.

Friday, July 2, 2010

No no, don't worry, this blog is not developing into a gardeners blog... I just have a few things to show you before moving on.

In the comments someone mentioned the word collection... and yes, I guess that's what it is all about. Finding those plants you are like getting to know them and their special needs.

Some of you might know that I grew up in a nursery, and of course I also did some work there. One of things I liked the most was seeding and making small cuttings. I still like that, and instead of going out to buy new plants the next season, I am harvesting seeds. At this moment the Pansy's are starting to look a bit worn out. I will cut them, put them outside and hope for them to bloom one more time in the fall. But first... harvesting seeds. Pansy's are not true from seeds so the ones I get next year might be a little different or a mixture of the colors, but that's part of the fun...

My dad showed me how to make these little seed envelopes out of small pieces of sandwich paper. I really like them. You can see the seeds through them and the sandwich paper has a nice crisp feeling to them. The person who invented these little wonders must have been some crazy Japanese gardener with an interest in origami, or at least that's my conclusion...

For collecting the seeds I have made some small bag in mesh that is pulled over the flower when it is starting to wither and secured with a little piece of wire. Then all I do is wait for the seeds to mature and collect into the little bag.

In the potting area, I would like to have a box containing all the tools I need, and of course the box should be beautiful and the tools nice and in good quality... So far I have made list of things I use, so I know what to wish for in a better quality and with more beauty

I have started to write notes down in my little garden book. I put in pictures and makes small plant portraits. It is really nice to look through and hopefully it will help me in planning the years to come in the studio garden and greenhouse

Last year I bought 3 Australian violets ( Viola hederacea ), and tried to take cutting from them, but it seems that the cutting where so moist that they withered away before the roots developed. My new attempt is to let them have the connection to the mother plant while the roots develope. To encourage them yo make roots have I secured them tight to the soil with little pieces of wire. I guess I am preparing for another child... The big question is : When to cut the umbilical cord...

Another thing I have done in my attempt to be a good gardener is to buy a propagator. With that I can give the little cuttings and seeds the ultimate environment for making roots and for sprouting. Like chilies that needs a very high temperature for in the soil to start sprouting.

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Favorites from the greenhouse...

I have quite a few flowers in the greenhouse, but looking at all these flowers, I realise that it can be a bit too much, it seems that my preferences are going more in the direction of leaves and small flowers. But all in all a nice mix is wonderful

Another thing I have to consider is the maintenance level. The plants grow like crazy in the humid warm climate. Watering all these plants is quite a work, so a water post inside the greenhouse with a hose, is really necessary. Also the withered flowers need to be removed and the floor kept somehow clean from dead leaves, flowers and insects. It is a balance because it is still a greenhouse and to some extend it is okay with a little mess when you bring nature inside...

Living fairly north it is a wonderful feeling to see the speed of growth in the greenhouse. It is like having a little piece of the Mediterranean area, and makes me dream of experimenting with things like growing lemongrass, capers and ancho chilies (my favorite chili), but, let's see. Heat is not everything when it comes to growing, the amount of light is also an important factor. For some plants the length of the season here up north is too short to ripen the fruit.

When people asked me about what the greenhouse should be used for, I kind of tried to avoid answering, since I didn't really knew. That is not the entirely truth... I had lots of ideas but as with all other thing in my life, things tend to change, other idea pop up, some stays some don't, and in the end of the process I always have to conclude that it was best that it evolved slowly. I am at the start of the journey with this project, and still thinking, testing and rethinking it all. But at least it is a lot of fun...

At the end I have to thank you for the welcome back comments...what a nice feeling

Mette Antero Kjær

My world is a world of making...... I am a potter but it seems as if I cant keep my hands of anything that can be made. I love all the things that starts from basics, may it be clay, fibres, paints and so on.